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Kevin Reilly, President of TNT and TBS and Head of Content for WarnerMedia’s new streaming service, started his TCA executive session today by teasing that new service. While it doesn’t yet have a name, it is scheduled to launch in beta version in the fourth quarter of 2019, and it might shake up Netflix’s catalogue big time.
WarnerMedia is entering the streaming wars with the full offerings of Warner Bros, HBO, and Turner. That means that they foresee the service as appealing to the HBO subscriber core, but is hoping that they can offer content that will appeal to the whole family. Expect to see Cartoon Network, Looney Tunes, CW favorites, and DC Universe picks to be on the service along with HBO’s premium content. Reilly says that HBO’s SVOD service will run separately to WarnerMedia’s, but that the services will be integrated seamlessly for subscribers.
However, Reilly also made it clear that they want to make Friends a prime feature of the new service, and when asked if the show would be yanked off Netflix after 2019, he said, “I think you can expect the crown jewels of Warner will ultimately end up on the new service.”
He added that he did not believe it to be a good business model to share assets like that. Reilly also said that Netflix’s deal with The CW is about to be looked at again in the spring, which might mean that Riverdale could also be migrating to the service.
Reilly also said that in addition to looking at everything in the Warner, HBO, and Turner libraries as potential adds for the new service, they will be ordering new original programming exclusive to the produce later this spring. Because of the time needed for development, the beta version of the product will not have original programming, but will in 2020.
Reilly also shared that there will be a pricing tier to the new WarnerMedia service, and they are hoping to offer incentives to HBO subscribers to add the new service, and that they are even looking to AT&T for opportunities.
“This still is early days,” Reilly said during his session, explaining that the streaming wars aren’t over. They’ve only just begun.
